We have been able to start our classes on time both yesterday and
today. Sammy Paet has picked me up every morning since Tuesday. The first day,
we learned that departing the hotel at 7am was not early enough to make it for
a 7:30am starting time. We now are leaving at 6:45am and that gets us to the
venue in time to set up and get started at 7:30. If there were no traffic at
all, I would guess the whole trip would take about 5 minutes. Manila traffic,
however, is horrible!
Going back to the hotel in the afternoon takes us an hour or more.
Today, it was total gridlock. Sammy was taking me to the arrival area of the
airport so I could exchange funds, but we could not get there. When I finished
the exchange, I tried to take the shuttle to the hotel, but no traffic was
moving. So, I walked from the airport to the hotel, stopping for supper at a
restaurant that grills seafood, chicken and pork. I got back to the hotel a
little after dark, but traffic was still at a standstill.
The morning class on the Epistles of John started with 1 John 5:1 and
went through the end of 2 John. We are on schedule to end the classes tomorrow
at noon since some of the men are far from their homes and need time to get
back before Sunday. We Had dealt with much of 2 John yesterday in the
“Fellowship” class, so we were able to get through that material rather
quickly. We spent a great deal of our time discussion how love and obedience
related together and how both are essential to please God.
The “Fellowship” class covered Romans 14, examining both what it does
teach and what it does not teach. In the aftermath of error taught on marriage,
divorce and remarriage, many abused Romans 14 in an attempt to bolster their
case that we may rightly receive into our ongoing fellowship some who teach
doctrinal error and/or practice sin. We noted that Romans 14 deals with matters
involving no inherent sin. The practices discussed are ones of human liberty or
practices that are indifferent to God.
